(This post is the eighteenth of what will be approximately seventy posts following 820th anniversary highlights of what history now calls the “third crusade.” My novel, The Swords of Faith, tells the story of this legendary clash between Richard the Lionheart and Saladin.)

*****

Richard the Lionheart, legendary warrior and military tactician, larger-than-life in a fight, was simply not built for sea voyages—the sea was not kind to him at all. As his fleet approached Crete about a week after leaving Sicily, it became evident a storm had separated about twenty-five ships from the main group. His future wife Berengeria and his sister Joan were traveling on one of those ships. Richard moved ahead to the island of Rhodes and waited, worn down and ill from nearly constant seasickness, while sailors under his command searched the area for signs of the missing ships. 820 years ago today, Richard landed at Rhodes and began a stay that would last until May 1st. Richard rested and recuperated while he waited anxiously for news of the missing ships, and of his missing fiancé and sister. The answer to those uncertainties would delay his arrival at Acre, and add an unanticipated adventure to the enterprise.